In its 27th Year the 2013 Farm Progress Hay Expo showed off the latest in forage- and hay-making technology in a series of demonstrations that kept the crowd entertained all day. The event, held near Waukon, Iowa, at Regancrest Holsteins, drew visitors from as far away as Brazil. Making hay has been an evolving business since the first mechanical mower was put to work.

Today, the process of creating a quality feed source has been enhanced with machines that include on-board sensors for hay quality, management controls that provide operation information from implements in action and even remove vehicles for checking field quality. We've rounded up a few scenes from the recent event. You can check out more at www.HayExpo.com. The Hay Expo site changes every year, and the 2014 event location is usually announced by January.

Of course, getting these images means getting up close, as the author also found during the event.

Check out this gallery of equipment to get a checkup on the latest technology at work to make top quality feed for livestock. While we can't feature everything that was there - you get a flavor of the level of tech being applied to feed-making in 2013.

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